13 Days of Halloween- Part 3

In celebration, my sister-in-law, husband, and I collaborated to present to you The 13 Days of Halloween. The story is an original fairy tale retelling by Melanie Bernard, images by Morgan and Ryan Bernard.

Don’t forget to check out Part 1 of the story in case you missed the beginning 🙂

Little Red (Part 3)

“‘Tis a good ting me grandson were out walkin’.” The elderly woman stands with a groan. “Else dey mightina got ya.”

Artwork by Morgan Bernard

“Yer… grandson?” Once more, the girl looks to the woman. Her head tips to the side in a curious way.

The woman nods as she waddles towards the window. “Aye! Fended ’em off he did.” Pride swells in the woman’s voice. “Dou… I can’t understand why de monsters be chasin’ ya.” Stopping at the window, she faces the young girl. A hand settles into her hip and her eyes narrow. “Dere sometin’ ya need to be tellin’ me, girl?”

Blinking back, the girl tips her head the other way. “What d’ya mean?”

One gray eyebrow rises on the woman’s wrinkled face. “I mean,” she starts with a tone full of warning. “Dem monsters dun just chase anyun.” She pauses to let the point settle in. “Ya been doin’ sometin’ ya shouldn’t be?”

Staring a moment longer, the woman scoffs and flickers her wrist in the girl’s direction. “I’d be surprised if a girl yer age’d be involved in tings o’ dat nature anyhow.” Back to the window she turns. She takes one long look through the glass before yanking the sheet in front of it, cutting off the moonlight. When she spins around, the girl’s gone.

Panic tightens her chest. She snaps her head back and forth, her dwindled vision searching for the girl, but she’s nowhere to be found.